Surveillance of Canada's high Arctic

The Canadian Arctic is fast becoming an area of increasing strategic and economic importance to Canadians and its federal and territorial governments. As a result, the Canadian Forces (CF) need to be more aware of activities in this area; particularly in the navigable passages. However, due to the large expanse, low population density, and lack of extensive infrastructure in the Canadian Arctic, this is a difficult task. Presently, information is primarily limited to that gathered from RADARSAT, by over-flights carried out by the CF's Maritime Patrol Aircraft, to ground patrols carried out by the Canadian Rangers or the Army, and patrols by the Canadian Coast Guard or Canadian Navy. To improve the ability of the CF to obtain an Operational Picture (OP) for the high Arctic, Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) started a four year Technology Demonstration (TD) project in April 2007 to investigate and demonstrate technologies that could be used to monitor and surveil the waters of the high Arctic. This paper discusses the various technologies that will be investigated, developed and demonstrated, and presents the program of work that has been proposed and which we are in the process of realizing.